Waukegan Family Law Blog

In a recent divorce case, the presiding judge said that a microphone planted in a stuffed animal recorded more than just a child's conversations -- it was intended to record everything that happened when the stuffed animal was in the room.

The threat of legal action, however, doesn't seem to deter spouses who are intent on getting dirt on the person they married. Because the devices have become smaller in size and price, the temptation has proved too big to ignore. People no longer need a private investigator to find out a spouse's secrets.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman against her ex-husband, a congressman from the Chicago area, in the latest twist in their long-running dispute over child support. The issue has dogged the congressman, Joe Walsh, throughout his brief tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, but it shows how contentious divorce issues can be solved when former spouses decide to work together to settle an issue instead of trading recriminations.

The former spouses said that they had resolved their issues. As part of their agreement, the two issued a joint statement proclaiming Walsh was never a "deadbeat dad." The man's wife had sued him after he won his election in 2010. She said he owed more than $117,000 in child support. The couple divorced in 2002 after 15 years of marriage. Walsh has since remarried.

In some families, pets take on the persona of children. And in some cases of divorce, the splitting couple will fight as passionately for custody when it comes to their pets.

The topic of pet custody might be more prevalent in divorce cases now more than ever. In a survey of divorce lawyers done by an Illinois-based law group, about 25 percent of the attorneys noticed an uptick in the number of divorces that involved pet issues.

Did you know that open child adoptions are becoming very common? In the past, adoptive parents engaged in frequent closed adoptions, with no contact between the child and child's biological parents. However, a new report based on a survey of 100 nationwide adoption agencies shows that the birth parents in 95 percent of all adoptions across Illinois and the United States maintain some sort of relationship with their child's adoptive family.

Specifically, a report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute says that it now is almost standard procedure for birth parents to meet and interview potential adoptive parents before selecting a family for their baby.